On this day in music history: June 11, 1979 – …

On this day in music history: June 11, 1979 – “Get The Knack”, the debut album by The Knack is released. Produced by Mike Chapman, it is recorded at MCA Whitney Studios in Glendale, CA in April 1979. The first album by the Los Angeles, CA. based power pop band is recorded live in the studio with few overdubs, in just eleven days for a cost of only $18,000. Boosted by a huge publicity campaign by Capitol Records, the album becomes a massive seller out of the gate. Anchored by the huge hit single “My Sharona” (#1 Pop), “Get The Knack” becomes the fastest selling album released by Capitol since The Beatles US debut album Meet The Beatles in 1964. The album reaches Gold status in only thirteen days, and is certified Platinum in less than a month. The albums front and back cover are also inspired by the Fab Four, as well as the original vinyl LP and 45’s are issued with reproductions of Capitol’s vintage 60’s era labels. Viewed as a response the anti-Disco backlash that is reaching its crescendo at this time, the band and the album is hailed by fans and many rock critics as “the return of rock & roll”. But not long after the record becomes successful, a groundswell of backlash against The Knack develops. People offended by the bands often raunchy lyrics laced with sexual innuendo, and feeling they are trying to compare or align themselves to The Beatles legacy is a turn off to many. An artist in San Francisco launches the “Knuke The Knack” campaign in response to the negative publicity. The album spins off a second single with “Good Girls Don’t” (#11 Pop), but will not repeat the success of “My Sharona.” The album is remastered and reissued on CD in 2002, with five additional bonus tracks added to the original twelve song track listing. It is also remastered and reissued as a limited edition hybrid SACD by Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab in 2017. Get The Knack spends five weeks at number one on the Billboard Top 200, and is certified 2x Platinum in the US by the RIAA.